A Brisbane based food blog written by a couple with a passion for food.

Thursday, February 24, 2011

Vietnam Corner BBQ

In celebration of Mr food hunter's sister-in-law's return from a long holiday, the clan of 6 + Miss food hunter arranged for a simple dinner out. We were looking at share food-type places and thought Sunnybank was the way to go. Vietnam Corner is more adjacent to Sunnybank plaza then in the plaza itself. It really is at a corner of a lower ground parking complex but don't be put off by this, there are many other eateries and an Asian provision store around and it ain't shabby at all!
Before we ramble on our massive spread, we'd first like to comment on the service. Okay, be prepared to have wait staff who speak and understand little English, so don't be surprised if they don't know the names of their dishes in English when you call for them and expect to have wait staff forget to bring all your orders. The latter 2 is likely to occur under circumstances of an order of a long list of dishes. This is really less of a complaint and more of a cautionary advice for some: )

And so, we almost made our dinner an eight course affair...hmmm maybe we should have done just that, make an auspicious meal out of it and just carry an extra 2 doggy bags home! Ha! Now, how can one go past roast meats at a BBQ house so half a roast duck it is! We also had the Soy Chicken, Lemongrass Chicken, Peking Spare Ribs and cold dishes of Duck Giblets, Pickled Cabbage and sliced Pork Knuckles with Jellyfish. The dishes came out quick and pretty much all at once, talk about efficiency in the kitchen!

Soy Chicken

Roast Duck

Meet the twins! We promise these pictures aren't identical dishes. Both were cooked well, they were meaty, smooth, moist and tender though, we would have liked a stronger soy flavour come through with the chicken and the duck too was lacking some flavour intensity. Plum sauce was served we think, with the Roast Duck?? In the end, the plum sauce served more than its one sole dish purpose....

Lemongrass Chicken

Peking Spare Ribs w juicy pineapples

The Lemongrass grilled Chicken was flavourful, they were tender slices of herb goodness and somewhat crispy from the grill. The Peking Spare Ribs were a hit at the table, well at least for Mr food hunter. The sauce is best described as a fruity plum cross sweet and sour sauce. It really is a sweet-type sauce, which may not be pleasant for some but the little 3-year old loved it with rice. The pork ribs were again meaty, tender with just the right amount of batter!

Duck Giblets

Now, we are not sure which internal organ it is exactly from the duck but the texture is similar to that of kidneys. It is served with a ginger sauce that is not quite detectable and has essentially a dressing that is vinegarish-sweet.

Pork Knuckles & Jellyfish

We wouldn't say the sliced Pork Knuckles & Jellyfish as a whole was a refined dish. The pork knuckles were gelatinous, which was meant to be and the chewable thick bands of jellyfish were fun to eat! The accompanying dressing was colourless, like that of the giblets and perfect combined. All the cold dishes in fact had an acidic sweet taste, this includes the pickled cabbage (not pictured) which served as a good contrast to the meats.

Vietnam Corner did not disappoint the crowd, we all went away pleased with our feed! The rather large restaurant has long tables lined parallely, which is suitable for large groups of diners. Next time, we shall try their single-serve Vietnamese rice and noodle dishes.

About Us

We are a merry couple living in brisbane who love to explore and try all the flavours of the world. We indulge in an array of cuisines from east to west and everything in between. Nothing excites our appetites more than trying out new places to eat and sharing with our friends and families the discoveries we make. We hope our experiences may also excite you too. If you wish to contact us, our email is diesel13sg@hotmail.com.